


Six of Diamonds

by jabedalien



Category: Community (TV)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Cartomancy, Explicit Language, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Seer Abed is my one true love, Superpowers, Telekinesis
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-23
Updated: 2020-06-01
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:41:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24344440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jabedalien/pseuds/jabedalien
Summary: "Abed's own Jack of Clubs came first, which wasn’t too surprising. Most of his predictions involved himself in at least some manner. Next was the King of Clubs, Troy’s card. He placed them both face-up on the floor. The third was Annie’s, then Jeff. Now Abed was starting to get a little nervous. It wasn’t often that this many members of the group came up at once. When the next two cards were Shirley and Britta, he’d sort of expected it. He went to pull another card, but the deck had sealed itself into a solid block. With a deep breath, he pulled the blindfold out of the box and tied it around his eyes."
Relationships: Abed Nadir & Jeff Winger, Abed Nadir & the Study Group, Annie Edison & Abed Nadir, Annie Edison & Jeff Winger, Troy Barnes & Abed Nadir, Troy Barnes & Annie Edison & Abed Nadir
Comments: 25
Kudos: 52





	1. King of Spades

**Author's Note:**

> First of all the biggest thank you ever to troynabed (buttsoup on here) and blueberrytrobed on tumblr for beta reading this! they have helped me so much and definitely would not have been able to figure this out without them.  
> This is by far the most high concept thing I’ve ever written so please forgive the fact that it is likely confusing as all hell. I really wanted to try something that involved some worldbuilding, and that I could try out Harmon's plot embryo on, so here we are with a Community AU! I don’t want to give everything away in terms of everyone's abilities, but if anything needs clarification please let me know. Also Pierce isn’t in this, mostly because I fucking hate writing him, I won’t even try to excuse it.

“Guys, there’s no way we’re going to get an A on this!” Annie exclaimed.

“Well we’re not even going to pass if you keep doing that,” Britta said.

“Doing what?” Annie asked innocently.

Britta nodded at the diorama, the pieces of which were all hovering two feet off the table.

“Sorry everyone I didn’t mean it!” Annie said, flicking her hand to put the figures back into place.

“Goddamnit you guys it’s getting seriously late. We need to focus and get this done,” Jeff said, smacking the table for emphasis and sending a deep crack halfway across it. “Fuck, didn’t mean to do that either. Troy?”

Troy walked over to the crack and placed his palm on where it had started. Pale light radiated from his palm as he fixed the table. “Good as new,” he smiled.

“It’s been like five minutes and Abed’s not back yet. You good buddy?” Troy asked, waving his hand in front of Abed’s blank stare.

Abed blinked a few times and returned to reality. “I’m good. Also, they’re announcing a new animated Star Wars series next week.”

“Nice!” Troy said, putting his arm out so they could do their handshake.

“You guys wouldn’t mind if I left right? I mean I’ve got kids at home.” Shirley said, picking up her purse and walking towards the door.

There was a chorus of agreement from the group.

“I guess that’s fine,” Annie said.

“She does have kids!” Britta added.

“She’s fucking with you guys.” Abed said, deadpan.

“Hey! Not fair!” Annie said, and with a wave of her hand the door slammed shut in Shirley’s face.

A dark gray cloud followed above Shirley’s head as she begrudgingly walked back to her seat. “Don’t you dare, Brit-ta,” She said, glaring.

Britta rolled her eyes, but the cloud brightened up a little before disappearing entirely.

“I don’t even know why you still try to Charmspeak us with Abed around,” Troy said.

The Dean opened the door and peered in. Once he saw the study group inside, he flung the door open.

“Hard at work I see! No one I love more than our most ethnically and powerfully diverse group on campus! Just here to ask, what look do you guys prefer?” With a shimmer the Dean changed into a perfect version of Lady Gaga’s meat dress, complete with a wig and makeup. “I’m sort of feeling this one, but—” He shimmered again, this time putting on Selena’s purple jumpsuit, “This one is pretty iconic as well."

“Will there be birds where you’re going?” Abed asked.

“Well I mean no one’s _inviting _any, but it’s an outdoor event.”__

__“Selena then. Otherwise they’re going to take an interest in the raw meat.”_ _

__The Dean narrowed his eyes at Abed for a second, but most people know advice genuinely given by a Seer is probably worth listening to._ _

__“Very well then, I’ll leave you all to work,” The Dean said, stopping to place a hand on Jeff’s chest before leaving. “Nothing like a Super,” He whispered to himself on the way out the door._ _

__They spent another hour on the diorama, but Troy only had to fix it twice, so they considered it a job well done._ _

__THE NEXT AFTERNOON_ _

__The group was sitting at lunch together, all crammed into one booth. Abed left his food uneaten, instead examining his stack of cards. He flipped one over but it was still in shuffle, running through the suits almost too fast for his eyes to follow._ _

__“Hey 8-ball! Think you could give me a palm reading?” A guy sneered as he walked by the table. Abed ignored him and he snatched the sandwich from Abed’s tray. Jeff caught his wrist and he dropped the sandwich, but Jeff didn’t let go until he heard something crack._ _

__“Ow! Fuck you Winger!” He yelled, his hand hanging limp._ _

__“You didn’t give me much of a choice that time, did you?” Jeff said with a smirk of self-satisfaction. Abed’s card stopped on the King of Spades._ _

__“Thanks Jeff,” Abed said. He placed his hand over the deck of cards and sent them away in a puff of smoke._ _

__A girl in floral minidress walked up to the opposite side of the table. “Hey Troy,” She said, twirling a piece of hair around her finger. “Do you think you could fix this essay for me? I’m a terrible speller.”_ _

__“Yeah sure Jessica!” Troy said, placing his hand over the notebook. The page glowed for a moment while some letters were rearranged._ _

__“Thanks so much!” She opened her palm and summoned a pot with a small purple flower, then handed it to Troy. “For your botany project,” She winked._ _

__“You’re a lifesaver!” Troy said, examining the perfect petals._ _

__“No problem, see you around.”_ _

__“Pretty smooth Troy, she usually charges like twenty bucks for those,” Annie said._ _

__Britta gave the tiny flower a bit of rain. “You know what they say, people love a Fixer,”_ _

__“Almost as much as they hate a Seer,” Jeff added._ _

__“Not very nice Jeff!” Shirley said._ _

__Abed laughed. “It’s fine Shirley, he’s not offending me. I know what I am and I don’t mind it one bit. You guys like me well enough and that’s plenty. Speaking of, I’m gonna need to do some divination tonight, sorry Annie and Troy.”_ _

__“Any reason?” Annie asked._ _

__“I’m not sure yet, I but I don’t have a great feeling about it.”_ _

__“Well I’m happy to fix any lightbulbs you shatter!” Troy said._ _

__“You and Annie are damn lucky to have Troy in that apartment,” Britta said. “Between the two of you, that place would definitely be destroyed by now without him.”_ _

__“Did I tell you Annie ripped absolutely _everything _off the walls during last night’s episode of The Bachelor?”___ _

____“Jesus Christ Annie, really?” Jeff asked. “I need to hear this.”_ _ _ _

____The group listened to the story, mostly just laughing at Annie, until lunch was over._ _ _ _

____LATER THAT DAY_ _ _ _

____Abed opened the door to the divination room. The walls were covered in dark purple velvet curtains, which rippled in the dim light of the dozens of dull bulbs hanging from the ceiling. The floor was covered with the same velvet, and the soft floor underneath gave easily to Abed’s footsteps. He took his black robe off the hook on the door and pulled it on, cinching the wide belt around his waist. Sitting cross-legged in the center of the room, he opened the wooden box in front of him. His cards were stacked neatly inside, and he pulled from the top of the deck._ _ _ _

____His own Jack of Clubs came first, which wasn’t too surprising. Most of his predictions involved himself in at least some manner. Next was the King of Clubs, Troy’s card. He placed them both face-up on the floor. The third was Annie’s, then Jeff. Now Abed was starting to get a little nervous. It wasn’t often that this many members of the group came up at once. When the next two cards were Shirley and Britta, he’d sort of expected it. He went to pull another card, but the deck had sealed itself into a solid block. With a deep breath, he pulled the blindfold out of the box and tied it around his eyes._ _ _ _

____…_ _ _ _

____Troy was sitting on the couch when he heard Abed start to scream. He let it go for a second, since it happened on occasion anyways and he really didn’t like to bother Abed in there. But after half a minute the lights started to flicker through the whole apartment. Annie opened the bedroom door and asked in a scared voice if he could go check on Abed._ _ _ _

____He opened the door and was hit by a gust of wind. The lights were flickering, and Troy ducked to avoid one of the cards spinning rapidly around the room._ _ _ _

____“Abed?! ABED!!” Troy yelled, but it was clear that wherever Abed was, he couldn’t hear Troy or his own high-pitched screaming. He was levitating high enough that Troy was almost eye-to-eye with him. He reached around Abed’s head, finding the tail of the blindfold and yanking it off. Abed dropped to the floor with a thud, and the cards in the air were shredded to pieces, which rained gracefully down._ _ _ _

____“Good thing I put this foam in, I’m pretty sure that fall would’ve broken you,” Troy said._ _ _ _

____Abed didn’t answer, and Troy kneeled down. “That was kind of terrifying man, what the hell did you see?”_ _ _ _

____“I’m honestly not sure,” Abed said. “How long have I been in here?”_ _ _ _

____“Maybe ten minutes,” Troy said._ _ _ _

____“Seriously? It felt like hours. I know I must’ve seen _something _, but now I can’t remember at all.” He picked up a sliver of what seemed to be the Ace of Hearts. “And I think I’m gonna need some new cards."___ _ _ _


	2. Ace of Spades

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Abed puts down an Ace of Spades and frowns, then leans in close to Annie and talks in a low voice. 
> 
> “This isn’t a good card no matter what the circumstances, and considering what’s been going on I knew it was likely. We need everyone at the apartment tonight, I want to try something.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> second chapter of this AU! i'm pretty happy with how this is going so far and have had so much fun trying to build this world so i hope yall are enjoying it :) if i don't slack off i'll have chapter three up this week as well!   
> i pay way to much attention to detail in this thing, which means i spend a lot more time researching and making confusing lists than actually writing. but im pretty sure "meticulously thought out to a fault" is kinda the community way :)

“Can you fix these?” Abed asked, holding out his cupped hands, full of the scraps of his cards. “I gathered all the pieces up.”

Troy placed his hands over Abed’s and they both watched the light glow for a minute. While they were standing there, Troy couldn’t help thinking about what had happened the night before. He’d been in the room for divinations plenty of times, and sure, they were kind of weird, but he usually liked watching Abed. Every once in a while he’d have predictions for Troy, or he’d try to answer questions Troy had, like if a show they really liked would ever get a movie. Last night was far from enjoyable though, he’d almost gotten stabbed in the face with a playing card and Abed’s scream was still haunting him. Troy lifted his hands up, and they both stared at the unaffected pile of card confetti.

“I can’t remember the last time that happened,” Troy said, wide-eyed.

“This isn’t good at all, Troy,” Abed said, letting the pieces fall from his hands. “We’re going to have to stop on the way to school.”

“We’re already running kind of late, can it wait till after class?” Troy asked.

Abed closed his eyes for a second. “I’m pretty sure Duncan just woke up on a sidewalk like ten miles from school. We should be fine.”

“Then I’m all in,” Troy said.

They finished getting ready and walked to the discount store on the corner. While the two of them were searching through the aisles Troy leaned in and asked in a half- whisper, “The thing with the cards, and you not remembering anything, has that happened to you before?”

“Last time I shredded cards like that was the night before my first day at Greendale. Then it made sense at least. My whole life was in flux, and in a moment of transition like that there were just too many possibilities for me to get a clear reading. That time I didn’t see anything at all, just blackness. I _know_ I saw something last night, but it was like the second you pulled me out I lost it all. That’s never happened before.”

“Abed you’re scaring me a little,” Troy said, spotting a deck of cards and tossing them to Abed.

“We can talk more later, let’s get to class.”

“Two dollars,” The cashier said as Abed placed the cards on the counter. “And you’re not using these for any of that creepy Seer shit, right? I heard there’s one living around here.”

“No sir,” Troy said as Abed reached into his wallet and handed the bills over. “Just a… poker night with some friends.” He gave a grin that he hoped was believable.

“In that case, have fun!” The man said, passing them the bag.

“Fuck that dude,” Troy muttered as the bell on the door jingled behind them. “And to think I fixed his air conditioner last summer.”

…

“You guys, some totally weird shit happened with Abed last night,” Troy said as they walked into anthropology. Abed had been right, most everyone was in their seats but Duncan was nowhere to be found.

“You mean he’s got an entire room, complete with a fucking outfit he wears and padded flooring that he goes in to see the future, and it gets _weirder_?” Jeff scoffs.

“Well I can see the future from here too,” Abed said, pulling out the new deck of cards. “Going into the room just helps me focus, tune out the present. Other people’s powers are a lot more concrete. Seeing is uncertain, immaterial. The rest of you have powers that interact with the physical world somehow. That’s why the cards work so well for me. They help bring what’s in my mind to reality.”

“That’s an interesting way to put it, Abed,” Annie said, walking over to Abed’s desk. “I guess I never really considered that. Do you mind if I see the cards?”

“Not at all,” Abed says. “but don’t touch them. I want to watch you use your powers on them.”

“Little weird Abed, but okay.”

Annie moves her hand to slide the deck of cards out of the box and has it hover right in front of her face. She swipes through them until she finds the one she’s looking for. The rest of the cards return to a neat stack, and she places the Ace of Hearts face-up in front of Abed.

“That was really good,” Abed said. ”Graceful.”

Annie blushed a little. “Thanks, Abed. This is the card you use to represent me, right?”

“Yep, each of you have one.”

“And so if I pull a card right now, it’ll be totally random which one it is, but if you pull a card, it will tell you something about my future?”

“That’s the general idea,” Abed says, grabbing the card off the top of the deck. He puts down an Ace of Spades and frowns, then leans in close to Annie and talks in a low voice.

“This isn’t a good card no matter what the circumstances, and considering what’s been going on I knew it was likely. We need everyone at the apartment tonight, I want to try something.”

Annie gave him a worried look “Well I—”

“Good morning class!” Duncan called as he walked in the door. Annie left Abed, who was still staring at the two cards, and sat down at her desk.

“Between the very long night I had, and the fact that you all made some pretty acceptable dioramas, I’ve decided there is some cause for celebration. You’re all very lucky that I woke up in front of a grocery store this morning,” Duncan said, holding up a sleeve of red solo cups. “Because I will now fulfill your wildest dreams. That’s right, anything you want.”

Troy and Abed turned to each other and did their handshake.

“I’m gonna get a root beer float,” Abed grinned.

The class quickly formed a line leading to Duncan’s desk.

“Any way you can give me scotch?” Jeff asked.

“Oh my friend, liquor is not only allowed, it’s encouraged,” Duncan said as he filled his own cup of what seemed to be a very strong rum and coke.   
Duncan put his hand over Jeff’s cup and filled it with some of the best scotch Jeff had ever had in his life.

“I mean it’s a weird power, but pretty entertaining,” Britta said, drinking some kind of green smoothie that no one but her would ever ask for.

“A dangerous one, if you ask me,” Shirley said back. “If I could just fill a cup with whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, I’d probably be even drunker than he is right now.”

Duncan stumbled into the chalkboard, knocking over an old wooden mask, which broke into a few pieces. “Is Troy Barnes here?” He asked, scanning the room and splashing liquid out of his cup in the process.

“Right here,” Troy said, walking over to the broken mask. “As long as you don’t mind refilling my chocolate milkshake,” He grinned.

“Very well young man,” Duncan said, summoning another milkshake and adding whipped cream and a cherry.

“ _Awesome_ ,” Troy said.

He went back to his seat and Abed raised his eyebrows at him.

“Yes, you can have the cherry,” Troy said as slid the milkshake over to Abed.

“Cool cool cool,” He said as he plucked it off the top of the whipped cream.

…

Abed cornered Britta, Shirley and Jeff as they were walking out of Duncan’s class.

“Can you guys come to the apartment tonight? Troy wasn’t lying, there is some seriously weird stuff happening.”

“I don’t know how I feel about that,” Shirley said. Abed could tell she wanted to say something else, Charmspeak him into forgetting he’d ever asked, but she knew her power was useless on him. “what difference will it make having us there?”

“I’m not sure,” Abed admitted, “but I’m hoping if you’re all there it’ll make me strong enough to see what’s actually happening.”

“I can't make it,” Jeff said, taking a swig of the cup he’d had Duncan refill on the way out. “I have some important plans tonight.”

Britta jammed her elbow into his side. “Jeff, going to a bar where all the girls know you’re a Super doesn’t count as plans. We can help you, Abed.”

“Okay,” He said, looking at each of them carefully. “See you tonight.”

…

“Before we go in there,” Troy said, standing in front of the door to the divination room, “I just want to warn you all. Annie and I have seen Abed in there a few times, and I think we can both agree that sometimes his powers get a little _odd_.”

Annie nodded in solemn agreement.

“Well last night wasn’t like anything I’ve ever seen before. Not from him, or anyone else for that matter. Abed doesn’t even know what we’re dealing with yet. And with all of you in there, I can’t even imagine how powerful he’s gonna be. Just be ready for anything, alright?”

The rest of the group looked at each other, even more anxious than they had been before.

“You guys can come in,” Abed said from the other side of the door.

Troy gulped and let them all into the divination room.

“You look like the occult lovechild of Doctor Strange and the karate kid,” Jeff said when he spotted Abed sitting on the floor.

“Jeff, you need to respect Abed’s powers,” Britta chided.

“Oh I respect his powers plenty, just not his flair for theatrics,” Jeff said back, ducking to avoid one of the lower-hanging lights.

“The theatrics are part of my power,” Abed smirked as he tied the blindfold around his eyes.

“I always thought he looked kind of attractive like this, sort of mysterious, y’know?” Annie said, pointedly looking Abed up and down.

“You do realize that the blindfold covers his eyes, not his ears right?” Jeff scoffed.

“She knows,” Abed said, turning in their direction with a knowing smile. “Everyone sit where your card is.”

“How will we know when it’s starting?” Shirley asked as she took her seat.

“Oh, you’ll know,” Troy said, trying to be lighthearted but mostly just sounding worried.

Once they were all sitting in silence, Abed took a deep breath and held out the remaining cards in his hand. Each person’s card floated above their heads, glowing with white light. Annie met Troy’s eyes, and he gave her a small shrug, but it was clear he was just as scared as she was. Soon Abed was levitating, only a few inches at first but he quickly rose, his legs crossed and hands still on his knees.

Then came the wind, which picked the cards from Abed’s open hand and whipped them around the room. For a second it seemed like Abed was getting lower, and Britta was relieved that it was almost over until she realized that Abed was not in fact coming down, but instead levitating the rest of them. Shirley looked down at the ground below them, shaking her head.  
The lightbulbs flickered, then went out entirely, leaving only the cards casting halos over each of their heads, the wind whipping through their hair. Time seemed to stop up there, like for a moment Abed had taken them all with him to the immaterial world. Before any of them could process it, there was a burst of white light and gravity returned, sending them to the floor, with Abed still motionless.

“Are you alright? Did you see anything?” Troy asked, rubbing circles into Abed’s back. Annie gingerly pulled the blindfold off and held his chin in her hand. Abed looked deep into her eyes.

“It’s City College. They’re planning an attack on Greendale. Dean Spreck and Jeremy Simmons and… someone else. Another Seer. I couldn’t make them out.”

“Jeremy Simmons?” Annie repeated.

Abed nodded. “I’m gonna take a nap now,” he said, collapsing into Annie’s lap.

“We are so utterly screwed.” Jeff said.

“I might actually have to agree with Jeff,” Britta sighed.

“We’ll be fine guys, I’m sure Abed will have tons of ideas when he wakes up,” Troy said with a halfhearted grin.

“Jeremy Soul-Patch Simmons,” Annie spat, still cradling Abed’s head in her hands. “I hate him so much.”

“You guys should’ve seen what it was like in high school. Two Telekinetics in the same grade was a recipe for disaster,” Troy said.

“Alright, let’s get this one to bed and we can make a plan tomorrow,” Jeff said, picking up Abed in his arms like it was nothing.

He walked him into the blanket fort and stepped up the rungs of the ladder carefully. Jeff laid Abed down on the bed, then grabbed the blanket folded at the foot of the mattress and spread it over him. As he reached out and moved a lock of hair from Abed’s forehead, his eyes fluttered open for a second.

“Thanks, Jeff,” He whispered with a smile.

“Don’t mention it. Seriously, _don't_.” Jeff said.

“I won’t,” He muttered before drifting back off into sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks so much for reading!! i have genuinely loved writing this even though trying to write a real plot while also fitting in Abed being hot has been a challenge. if you wanna talk community im bestfriendsweekly on tumblr!


	3. Ace of Hearts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for this being both super short and super late!! i seriously love this story but goddamn it is so hard to write. i just overthink every little line and it makes me want to scream lol

Abed woke up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes for a second as the memories of the divination came flooding back. Having the rest of the group there had given him the energy he needed to get a glimpse of City College, but it had still absolutely exhausted him. He got out of bed, and realizing he still had his black robe on, untied it and hung it on the post of the bunk bed.

“What time is it?” Abed asked as he stepped out of the blanket fort and spotted Annie and Troy in the living room.

“Thank god you’re awake man, we were getting a little worried. It’s like ten o’clock.”

“That’s not that long,” Abed said, looking at them.

Annie nudged Troy. “It’s ten o’clock on Sunday. You’ve been in there since like eleven Friday night.”

Abed looked at them both in disbelief. “Holy shit.”

“Yeah I was afraid you were dead but Annie made sure you were still breathing,” Troy said.

Abed took a long shower and changed clothes, the whole time trying to figure out what the hell they were supposed to do next.

“Have you guys heard anything about City College this whole time?” Abed asked as he took a seat on the couch.

“Nothing yet, and we really didn’t know what to do next without you,” Annie said.

Abed summoned his cards and started to flip through them, not really looking for anything other than something for his hands to do. Surprisingly they all seemed to be in pretty good shape, even after the other night.

“Any idea what that Ace of Spades meant?” Annie asked apprehensively.

“I wasn’t sure then but now I’m thinking it represented Jeremy Simmons. You guys have history right?”

“Not _that_ kind of history Abed, he’s a Telekinetic too, and we went to high school together. Things got pretty bad. We were both really competitive people, and having the same powers meant people were always pitting us against each other. I started taking pills in the hopes that I could finally gain control over my powers the way he did and prove I was better than him. Instead they made my powers more erratic than ever, I ended up humiliating myself so many times before going to rehab. Sometimes I wonder if I would’ve been able to control them by now if I’d never taken the pills in the first place.”

Annie took a deep breath, like saying it all out loud had taken a weight off her chest. Troy and Abed looked at each other, then back at Annie.

“Hey I’m really sorry Annie, I didn’t know it was that bad for you in high school,” Troy said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

“It’s alright Troy, I don’t blame you for any of it. You were a Fixer, everyone loved you.”

“Yeah I guess so,” Troy shrugged. “But most of the time it seemed like they just loved what I could do for them.”

“If you want I can help you control your powers, Annie,” Abed said. “Seeing took over my life before I got a hold of it. I’d spend so much time in that other world, so worried about the future that I lost touch with reality. But if you find the right mindset I know you’d be able to do it.”

“Thanks, Abed, I think I’d like that.” She said.

“Great, we can start later today.”

…

“Where are we going for this Abed?” Annie asked as Greendale passed by in the car window.

“Out to the hiking spot by the park, but first we’re getting Jeff. It’s a good chance for him to practice his powers too.”

“Does Jeff really need help?” Annie asked. “I mean the guy shows off pretty much any chance he can get.”

“You aren’t wrong, but in a real fight, the two of you are probably going to be the most useful.”

“A real fight?” Annie asked, looking at Abed, who was watching the road.

“I’m not trying to scare you, but I think we all know it feels kind of inevitable. At least this way we can cover all our bases.”

…

“I can’t believe I let Abed convince me my Sunday was best spent hiking,” Jeff said as they walked up the trail.

“Don’t be such a downer, alright Jeff? It’s a nice day and you get to throw rocks around like you’re better than everyone else.” Annie said back.

“Well I am better than everyone else,” Jeff said with his patented cocky grin.

They reached the clearing at the top of the cliff, a wide stone platform with a view of Greendale spanning miles below them. The sky was clear and bright, and the breeze blew Annie’s hair around her face. She grabbed the tie from her wrist and pulled it into a ponytail, trying to find her focus.

“Okay Abed, what exactly are we gonna do here?” she asked.

“Jeff can throw one of those boulders off the edge, and you’ve just gotta bring it back up here.”

“Preferably before they crush whatever’s below us right now.” Jeff added.

“I don’t know about this you guys,” Annie said. “Those things look pretty heavy.”

“I’m the one chucking them Annie, come on.” Jeff said back.

He picked one of the boulders up, it was about four feet wide and nearly as tall as Jeff was. She saw his face straining with effort and the muscles in his arms flexing. This image distracted her for just a second, until he swung his arms and launched the boulder over the cliff’s edge. She stepped forward, just enough to catch sight of the boulder, and willed with everything in her to raise it back up. It stalled midair for a second before coming back up the side, where she used her hands to guide it back to its original spot.

“Holy fuck that thing was heavy, “Jeff said, still catching his breath.

Annie was pleased to see that Abed looked impressed. “Nice job you guys.” He said with a small smile. “Now you just need to keep doing it.”

“Seriously Abed?” Jeff groaned. “We say Britta’s the worst but honestly I think it’s you.”

Abed gave a disaffected shrug. “Come on Jeff, it’s pretty good practice. And proof that you’re stronger than just the average Super. I mean I’ve never seen another one do that.”

“You know just when to flatter me, don’t you?” Jeff said as he went to pick up the next boulder.

They kept going for a while like that, and each time Annie did find it a little easier and a lot less stressful.

“You’ve been doing really good,” Abed said after another run. “So now it’s time for the real test. I’ll jump, you bring me back up here.”

Annie and Jeff looked at him in disbelief. “Abed there’s absolutely no way—”

Abed stood at the edge, looked back at them, and jumped without hesitation. Annie could hardly hear her own screaming over Jeff’s as she took a step closer to the edge, saw Abed, who was limp and falling fast. She summoned every ounce of energy she had left and he shot up the side of the cliff. Suddenly he was back in front of her, still hovering over the edge.

“I knew you could do it.” Abed said, his hair messed up but otherwise unfazed. Annie threw him onto solid ground and he dusted himself off and stood up.

“Ihateyou Ihateyou Ihateyou!” Annie yelled, hitting Abed’s chest with her fists. He didn’t react, and after a few seconds she just hugged him and buried her face in his sweatshirt. “I swear to god, if you pull that shit again I’m not catching you.”

“I wont,” Abed said, trying awkwardly to pat her back while she was squeezing his arms to his sides. “But I only jumped because I knew you’d catch me. I trust you. Now you just need to trust yourself.”

“Way to get deep there, Seer.” Jeff teased.

“It did actually help a little.” Annie said. “But don’t scare me like that, Abed.”

“Let’s call the others and make a plan. City College is going to realize that we know they’re up to something soon if they haven’t already.” Abed said.

…

Troy unrolled a blueprint of City College onto the study table.

“So this is Dean Spreck’s office,” he said, pointing to a square room in the center of the main building. “and there’s going to be a dance here, in the cafeteria, on Friday night.”

“I’m happy we’re not the only community college with unnecessary dances.” Jeff said.

“Shirley can go to the dance and blend in, try to Charmspeak some information out of the students there.” Abed said.

“Sounds good to me,” Shirley said. “but I don’t want to go in there alone. That's enemy territory.”

“You won’t,” Troy reassured her. “Britta and I will go in too, you’ll need to make sure no one’s suspicious of us either. The two of us are going to check out the Dean’s office while you’re at the dance, and Annie will stand guard in here.” Troy pointed to a storage room about halfway between the cafeteria and the office.

“Jeff and I will wait in the van outside in case we need to run.” Abed said, drawing a circle a bit beyond the campus parking lot.

“And we can keep in touch with these,” Troy added, pulling out six small earpieces. “I made them and they’re pretty awesome,” he grinned.

“What if they do catch us?” Shirley said, inspecting her earpiece.

“With Annie and I there we can probably fight our way out,” Britta said. “And not leave anyone behind.”

The rest of the group laughed.

“Good one Britta,” Jeff laughed. “I’d like to see you fight your way out of a cardboard box.”

The lights in the room flickered as Britta stared him down. “Screw you Jeff,” she said, summoning a cloud above him that started to downpour over his head.

“Hey!” Jeff yelled, swatting at the cloud above him.

“Well maybe you can stop being mean to me. Just because I don’t use my powers for violence like you do doesn’t mean I can’t.”

“Alright, alright I’m sorry, but can you stop with the monsoon? This jacket is new and you’re gonna ruin it.”

Britta waved the cloud away and let the lights come back on.

“Alright,” Troy said, rolling up the map. “Now we all know the plan, and we just have to hope for the best.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks so much for reading! ill keep updating this as consistently as i can :)

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I really hope you enjoyed it. Feel free to talk with me in the comments or on tumblr, I'm bestfriendsweekly.


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